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Your reading guide to The Hunger Games
May the odds be ever in your favor…
When Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games was first published in 2008 it was an immediate hit, and by the time the trilogy concluded with Mockingjay in 2010 it was being celebrated as the biggest book series for young readers since Harry Potter. The movie adaptations that started coming out in 2012 further cemented The Hunger Games as one of the great pop culture phenomena of the 21st century.
But the series didn’t end with that trilogy, and with new prequels landing every few years new fans trying to get into the books can find themselves as confused as a new tribute on reaping day.
Here's our guide to Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games series, including a recommended reading order for fans just coming to the series as well as those jumping back in.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Among all the books in the series, this 2020 prequel takes place earliest in the timeline. It’s the story of Coriolanus Snow’s turn as a mentor in the 10th annual Hunger Games. While chronology sticklers might want to read this one first, it’s chock full of little details and easter eggs that will be most exciting for fans already steeped in the lore of the original trilogy.
We recommend reading The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes after the original trilogy. If you do pick it up first, expect to read it a second time after you’ve read the rest of the series.
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Sunrise on the Reaping
Every 25 years The Hunger Games marks what’s known as a Quarter Quell, when the rules of the games are changed in accordance with the instructions of the games’ founders. This most recent prequel takes place during the 50th annual Hunger Games, when the 2nd Quarter Quell called for double the number of tributes to be sent from every district: not just 1 boy and 1 girl, but 2 of each. Fans of the original trilogy will recognize young Haymitch Abernathy from District 12, but what this book sheds light on for the first time is what it was like for him go up against not 23 but 47 competitors.
Like The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, this book serves up easter eggs aplenty so we recommend reading Sunrise on the Reaping last—after the original trilogy and after the earlier prequel.
The Hunger Games Trilogy
These are the books that started it all. The story of Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark going toe-to-toe with President Coriolanus Snow and sparking a rebellion across Panem following their win in the 75th Hunger Games is an unforgettable thrill-ride full of heartbreak and heroics that finds resonances with our current moment the way the best speculative fiction always does.
If you’re reading the series for the first time, the original trilogy is where you should start—and you should read them in the original publication order: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay.
Rather than following the strict chronology of events, this reading order will allow the prequels to surprise and delight you by shedding more light on familiar characters and the history of Panem, especially the cruel annual ritual known as The Hunger Games.
Image via Lionsgate
